how to tell if ntfs hd has bad sectors?

[ngc4414]

i am running windows xp pro. i am wondering if my hd is going bad and would like to know if it already contains any bad sectors. i have done a chkdsk /r but it does not check for bad sectors nor does it tell me if it knows of any that are already bad. so is there any way to know?

thanks in advance

[TripleRLtd]

Use the hard disk drive manufacturer's utiility ngc! Also, in the event log, you will get the results of the checkdisk scan.

[InTheWayBoy]

I find the easiest way is to go to the hard drive manufacturers website and downloading their diagnostic tool. Almost all have one...if you're running WinXP you should be able to get the necessary info from the device manager. You can also look into third-party software...I use troubleshooter and microscope, which are really expensive...much more than a new drive. So scratch those...I don't know of any freeware checkers, but I'm sure there are some. Google it!

[TripleRLtd]

...I use troubleshooter and microscope, which are really expensive...much more than a new drive.!

I haven't met anyone who has used Microscope in years!! What do you think of it?

[techs]

You can go to My Computer and right click the drive. Choose Properties-Tools-Error Checking and make sure you check Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors.
In my experience Windows Chkdsk does a better job of saving your data than the manufacturers utility.

[TripleRLtd]

The point and the question was not about saving but checking and reporting, techs.
You must be thinking of Kerry's daughters. -wink-

[NooNoo]

ngc use the disktools supplied online by your hdd manufacturer

[InTheWayBoy]

Microscope is a big pile of smelly stuff...but it is bootable and the memory and disk checker are decent...and the Burn-In is okay. Definantly NOT worth the money! But hey, I didn't buy it so whatever

[TripleRLtd]

Yeah, figured as much. It seemed like years ago that anyone trying to get into the tech business had to get that "tool" though, for some reason. Sort of like "post" cards. -eek-

[ngc4414]

ok i went to the WD site and got the utility, and found the drive was fine
thanks

[ngc4414]

what happened was i had two 40GB HDs running in a raid 0 and my data started to become corrupted and the bootsector kept being deleted, so i broke the raid (after backing up) and tossed the drive i suspected, so i just wanted to make sure i kept the working drive...

[RejectionMan]

usianl with NTFS the system explodes (BSOD) when the drive goes sour. its those intermitant or im not sure yet sectors that you need to look for becasue they cause all kinds of flakyness.

[Ruslan]

All the utilities from HDD manufacturers can only cay - "good" or "bad" is the harddrive,and can be useful only for RMA-ing drives. But none of them cannot say exactly how good or how bad the drive is,and how long drive will be alive... I've seen many obviously defective drives what "successfully passed" manufacturer's tests... That's why I use instead of those numerous utilities just one,but universal and the simply the best utility for diagnostic (and repair) purposes. It's called MHDD utility (I mentioned it many times at Windrivers forums). http://mhddsoftware.com/products.shtml
Try it once, and you'll be not looking for any other HDD utils...